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glistening

 - 3 dictionary results

glis⋅ten

[glis-uhn]
–verb (used without object)
1. to reflect a sparkling light or a faint intermittent glow; shine lustrously.
–noun
2. a glistening; sparkle.

Origin:
bef. 1000; ME glis(t)nen (v.), OE glisnian, deriv. of glisian to glitter; see -en 1


glis⋅ten⋅ing⋅ly, adverb


1. glimmer, gleam, glitter. Glisten, shimmer, sparkle refer to different ways in which light is reflected from surfaces. Glisten refers to a lustrous light, as from something sleek or wet, or it may refer to myriads of tiny gleams reflected from small surfaces: Wet fur glistens. Snow glistens in the sunlight. Shimmer refers to the changing play of light on a (generally moving) surface, as of water or silk: Moonbeams shimmer on water. Silk shimmers in a high light. To sparkle is to give off sparks or small ignited particles, or to send forth small but brilliant gleams, sometimes by reflection: A diamond sparkles with numerous points of light.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To glistening
glis·ten   (glĭs'ən)   
intr.v.   glis·tened, glis·ten·ing, glis·tens
To shine by reflection with a sparkling luster. See Synonyms at flash.
n.  A sparkling, lustrous shine.

[Middle English glisnen, from Old English glisnian; see ghel-2 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

glisten 
O.E. glisnian, from P.Gmc. root *glis- (cf. O.Fris. glisa "to shine"), from PIE *ghleis-, from base *ghlei- "to shine, glitter, glow, be warm" (see gleam).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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